- TAZ TAYLOR BAND :
- Keith Slack (vocals)
- Taz Taylor (guitar, bass, keyboards)
- Don Airey (keyboards)
- Val Trainor (drums)
- Produced by: TTB, Richard Livoni
- Engineered by: Richard Livoni
- Mixed by : tbd
- Mastered by: Richard Livoni
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TAZ TAYLOR BAND - Straight UpEuropean Import : ESM187 STOCK STATUS: IN STOCK - ships in 1 day |
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| Taz Taylor was born
and raised just outside Birmingham, England. His two earliest
musical memories are "Parisienne Walkways" by
Gary Moore and "Since You Been Gone" by Rainbow.
"I remember sitting in the middle of the floor in front
of the T.V watching Rainbow perform "Since You Been
Gone" on Top of the Pops. I was transfixed" says
Taz. He took up the guitar shortly afterwards and soon discovered
the playing of Michael Schenker, via the UFO classic "Strangers
in the Night". The early '80s was a great time to be
obsessed with guitar, albums by the Michael Schenker Group,
Gary Moore, Van Halen and Ozzy Osbourne (with Randy Rhoads)
became both the soundtrack to Taz's life and his subconscious
music teacher. Taz spent almost a
decade working on his craft, no band, no jam sessions; he
was something of a musical recluse, holed up in his practice
room in San Diego California, where he had moved to in January
'97. The result of this was the highly acclaimed instrumental
album "Caffeine Racer". Taz then set about putting
together a band to promote the album. Bob Miller was drafted
to play Keyboards, Dirk Krause on Bass and a succession
of drummers!! When it came time to
record again, the whole band knew that they wanted vocals
this time around. Taz put in a call to his all time favorite
vocalist Graham Bonnet. He figured, he may as well start
at the top of his list and work down. As it turned out,
Graham got in touch just a couple of days later and they
hit it off instantly. "Probably because we are a couple
of English guys in exile here in Southern California!"
says Taz. The CD “Welcome to
America” (ESM137) was an instant hit worldwide and
with Graham Bonnet on vocals it’s not hard to see why.
The results speak for themselves. If you love that Rainbow
/ Bonnet sound then “Welcome” will not disappoint,
it is a tremendous rock album bursting with melody and well
written songs. So how do you follow
on from Graham? Enter Keith Slack a vocalist and frontman
that has already proved his worth with solo recordings and
from his time with MSG and Steelhouse Lane (with Mike Slamer).
So how does he compare, well Keith has an uncanny rasp in
his vocals that bears a resemblance to Graham but he sounds
really fresh and his style suits the fearsome riffs and
licks that Taz turns out with apparent ease…. Check
out songs like “Razor Tongue”, “The Fugitive”
and “Wait no More”. Since
Taz Taylor Band's 2006 release 'Welcome To America' Taz
and TTB drummer Val Trainor have toured and played in 9
countries. From Hollywood, California to London, England to Prague in the Czech Republic. And the chemistry shows on their new release "Straight up". Built on the solid grooves of Val's drumming and the powerful yet melodic Guitar playing of Taz, this album is an attention grabber. Taz also covers bass playing duties and the occasional keyboard part. With very special guest appearance on the title track and the album's sole instrumental is one of Taz' lifelong musical heroes, Deep Purple, Ozzy Osborne, Keyboard Maestro Don Airey, who's piano and strings close the album in class and style. An album not to be missed and surely destined to be one of the stand out releases of the year As Taz proudly says “I simply wanted to play my best and communicate”. We think he has done just that. |
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